Tourism Minister Ali Waheed made the statement at the 32nd meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) joint meeting of the Commission for South Asia (CSA) and Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP).

The minister chaired the meeting held on Tuesday, together with Malaysia’s Deputy Secretary General at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mohd Zamri Mat Zain.

While the 32nd CAP-CSA joint meeting was to be held in Sri Lanka, it was instead held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the various restrictions on travel.

The main agenda for the meeting constituted of providing international protection for tourists, rebuilding consumer confidence and policy issues in response to with COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the meeting focused on the impact of the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak on international tourism.

During the meeting participants also exchanged views on UNWTO Global Guideline to Restart Tourism.

Noting that Maldives believes that “the key to successful post pandemic tourism is a balance between confidence and convenience”, Minister Waheed stated that “the united response, universal standards and international cooperation from the international society, public and private organizations have positively impacted our ways of thinking and facilitated in adapting to the new normal”.

While Maldives prepares to reopen borders for international travel on July 15, the tourism minister said that this is what the country will be offering after reopening.

Waheed also thanked the Secretary General and the UNWTO Team for being “one of the first organisations in responding and taking pre-emptive measures to assist all member states in addressing this global pandemic”.

Furthermore, the minister reiterated the initiatives from UNWTO that have helped member states to re-strategize policies and adopt new measures to overcome the severe economic downturn and recession faced by the countries.

While 27 out of the 29 member states of UNWTO Commission for South Asia (CSA) and UNWTO Commission for East Asia & the Pacific (CAP) participated in Tuesday’s virtual Meeting, the participants welcomed the decision to hold the 33rd CAP-CSA Joint Meeting Sri Lanka, in 2021.